Insight
by far away2011
Summary: Some musings from Link and Zelda as they deal with the encroaching threat of Calamity and their ever evolving relationship.
1. The Ice Princess

**Author's Note: This is my first writing endeavor in about five years, so go easy on me! I have at least two more chapters planned, but I will see how this turns out! **

**Please feel free to leave feedback!**

She had my heart at first sight. I mean, I didn't fall in love with her at our first meeting, but when I saw this lonely girl, no older than I was, with the world on her shoulders, I knew I had to be there for her. This is despite the fact that it was obvious that she held a great deal of acrimony towards me. After a while, I began to understand she must have felt. She had been working so hard to unlock her darkness-sealing abilities, to no avail. Meanwhile, I just show up with the key to unlocking my destiny all wrapped up in the Master Sword on my back.

I mean, I don't necessarily agree with it. My life had been no walk in the park since I had pulled the Darkness-Sealing Sword from its resting place. I had been told over and over again that I was to defeat Gannon and prevent the fall of Hyrule, just as the heroes before me had done. However, it seemed incredulous to me that the Calamity capable of engulfing the world as we know it in darkness could be stopped by a lone teenaged boy such as myself.

I had been training every single day since I'd learned of my destiny. I had already been undergoing battle training since a young age to become a knight and live up to the legacy the men in my family. However, now I wasn't just fighting for my own pride or that of my family. I had the world to fight for. I had to become faster, stronger, more agile, and more deadly if I was to save the kingdom. I soon became the most capable swordsman in all of Hyrule and the youngest knight selected to serve the King directly.

However, it still didn't seem like my strength could possibly be enough. Sure I could best bokoblins and moblins, and even hinoxes and lynels in battle, but how does that compare to _the _Calamity. Was he 10 lynels? 100 lynels? 1000? I bore the constant weight of the Master Sword on my back, but it might as well have been the weight of the entire world. Yet, her weight still seemed heavier.

From the beginning of my knighthood, I had heard rumors in the past that the princess had yet to unlock the darkness-sealing powers bestowed to the women of her blood and name, but I never gave them any weight. What good with it do to the Goddess to deny the princess her birthright? However, once I was assigned to be the Princess's protector and constant companion by the King, the gravity of the situation became clearer.

I was called to a private royal chamber and briefed by the King, himself. He somberly explained to me that the Princess had, indeed, failed to awaken her powers, despite near constant prayer and fealty to the Goddesses. He said that it was my duty to protect the Princess, not only in the coming threat of the Calamity, but also against the ongoing threats and plots against her life by a clandestine offshoot of the Sheika tribe, the Yiga Clan. I was to also assist the Princess in any way that was necessary for her to unlock her powers. I had no clue what that last part meant for me. Surely the King and his assembly of priests and priestesses knew more about what was necessary to help the Princess than a boy that could hardly even remember his prayers. Maybe my mere presence was supposed to have a catalytic effect? Either way, that day I swore to the King that I would do all within my power to fulfil these duties.

The Princess made none of this easy. At first she treated me very coolly. In the first few weeks, she didn't speak to me at all outside of the ceremony where I was anointed as the Hylian Champion, and I could hardly call her attitude towards me on that day to be warm.

Gradually, she at least began to speak to me, or should I say, at me. I don't think she could help it. She seemed to love to speak her thoughts out loud. I think she would have been speaking rather I was there or not. Once, I had tried replying to one of her ideas with a suggestion of my own, but she scowled at me over her shoulder. From then on, I kept my mouth shut and simply observed the Princess. She was quite the oddity.

I had expected a princess to be spoiled and pampered, but she couldn't have been further from my expectations. In between her prayers starting in the very early morning and lasting into the mid-day and her studies lasting well into the night, she was one probably the hardest working person I've ever met. That, and she was brilliant. Her mind was constantly working, whether it was on the function of the Divine Beasts piloted by the other champions, the capabilities of that Sheikah Slate she was always carrying around, or just the plant and animal life around Hyrule. She was always postulating, plotting, and studying.

I could get into how beautiful she was but I try not to allow my mind to linger to long on the Princess's physical attributes. Or at least I fought my hardest not to. _Falling for your charge is for the weak, _I tell myself. _It is for the undisciplined, shallow squires. Knights do not lust after princesses. _But this was a little more than lust. Despite the Princess's attitude towards me, I couldn't help but find her charming. After a while, I allowed myself to secretly _appreciate _the Princess in that way. After all, it's not too often that I found myself even attracted to a girl.

I mean, I like girls and all. I've had all of the typical experiences of a boy in my village, playing at courtship and sneaking off to the woods to snog a crush in secret, but I never found myself wanting any more than a surface level acquaintanceship with any one girl.

At my age, a lot of the boys in girls from my village were taking up their trade, courting, marrying, some of them have even started families. Late at night, after a long day at the Princess's side, I liked to fantasize about having such things for myself. Relaxing in my favorite chair by the fire after a long day's work in my cozy cottage. Toys scattered at my feet. A sandy haired child, sucking their thumb, curled in the lap of a wife as she reads a story book. The wife looks up at me and smiles with such love in her eyes. Sometimes, if I'm close enough to sleep to let go of some of my inhibitions, I'll allow the wife to wear the familiar face of the Princess. I always scoffed aloud at that part.

Where is Gannon in this world? Already defeated? Or did he simply never exist? In a way, I have Gannon's existence to thank for this fantasy. If it wasn't for his impending appearance and me pulling the Master Sword, I would be lucky to even catch a passing glimpse of the Princess during the course of my service as a typical knight. Even now, I'll be lucky if the Princess doesn't banish me to the outskirts of Hyrule out of spite once this is all over. But until then, we are stuck with each other.

The Princess wants to make journeys to the four Divine Beasts in order to make modifications that will make them easier for their respective Champion to handle. She, of course, wanted to make this journey alone, but the King would hear none of it. I awkwardly stood guard outside of the King's private chamber with my back to the door as I heard his booming voice on the other side declare that the Princess would have an escort if she was to leave the castle and that, at least, I alone accompany her if she would have no one else.

The wooden door flung open beside me. I kept my gaze straight ahead as I heard the Princess step out of the room. She paused next to me and I could feel her eyes on me. Before I could even glance over to read the her face, she stormed down the corridor past me. That told me all that I needed to know about her feelings on the matter.

But it was settled. I was finishing up at the royal stables late at night, having made all of the necessary preparations for our journey. The Princess and I will leave early tomorrow to make our Journey to the Rito Village.

I made my way back to my chamber that was only right down the hall from the Princess's. I placed my hand on my doorknob and paused. I turned my attention to the door of the Princess's chamber at the end of the long hall. I debated whether I should even go to sleep tonight, as the Princess might try to sneak off without me. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time she made an attempt.

I made my way down the corridor to the Princess's door and stopped in front of the solid, wooden structure. I'm not sure what my plan was. Entering the Princess's chamber in the middle of the night was a good way to get myself thrown in the dungeon.

"Get some rest, Sir Link", I voice from behind me spoke. "I will watch the Princess tonight".

I nearly jumped out of my skin and my hand instinctively raced to the hilt of the Master Sword. I spun around to see Impa, a young Sheika and part of the Royal Guard. The Princess seemed to be quite fond of her.

She smirked at him as she took a few steps closer until she stood next to me in front of the Princess's door.. "You know you're going to have to be a little quicker than that if you mean to be the Princess's sole guard on this journey".

Before I could reply, she placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'll make sure the Princess stays put until tomorrow. Get some rest. You have a long journey ahead of you".

I gave one last glance towards the Princess's closed door, before turning back to Impa and giving her a affirmative nod. I made my way back to my own door, but when I looked back at the Princess's door, Impa was gone. Had I dreamed that whole encounter?

I knew the Sheika were known for their stealth, but seeing those skills in person was always disconcerting. My thoughts then shifted to the threat of the Yiga Clan and the intel received that they were planning on making attempts on the Princess's life.

In between the calamity harbingering doom, a conniving shadow organization, and a princess rebuffing me at every step, I had my work cut out for me. I needed all the rest I could get.


	2. The Impossible Boy

**A/N: Wow! I really didn't expect this chapter to become this long! Please bear with me and thanks to everyone who's taking the time to read this!**

**Zelda's POV:**

So many things were peaking my interest at once: the function of the Divine Beasts, the mysterious shrines that have begun to emerge around Hyrule, the absence of my darkness-sealing powers and, of course, _him._

It's funny. I had heard rumors about the hero who had wielded the Master Sword for the first time in 10,000 years and his skills. Because of his feats, I had expected a weathered, burly man, standing as tall and lean as a Zora. However, when I first set eyes on this petite boy hardly older or taller than I was, I not only felt shock, but a pang of insecurity. Here was this boy, at my age, who was already well on the path to fulfilling his destiny, yet I was nowhere near able to grasp mine.

He stood before me at our first meeting, silent and confident. I resented him. I've hardly ever been jealous of anyone in my life, but I was jealous of him.

I think my father believed we would become great friends when he assigned Sir Link as my personal knight attendant. Or maybe he didn't care what I thought. It wasn't one of his strong suits. Sir Link and I may have had the potential to become at least cordial towards one another, if I hadn't let my emotions get the best of me.

He was usually nonverbal, but once, he had made an attempt to speak to me as we walked through Hyrule Field and I rambled on about my research. It was the first time I had heard him speak and, in that moment, though his words were plain and harmless, he put a voice to all of my insecurities. So, I rebuffed and scowled at him out of shear instinct. His response was to purse his lips and bow is head, breaking eye contact.

From there on out, he was silent, as silent as death. Even his footsteps were inaudible. That part might sound impossible, but Sir Link _is _impossible.

On our way to the Rito Village to visit Champion Revali and the Divine Beast, Vah Medoh, we were ambushed in a canyon by a group of about a dozen bokoblins with a towering moblin in tow. I immediately panicked. The hunchbacked, pig-faced creatures were rushing down the cliff side towards us with clubs and rusty swords stretched overhead, the horned beast staggering behind them with a club crafted from jagged-bone that seemed to be the size of a human corpse.

My horse was spooked and instinctively started to back away, but before I could gain control of my steed, Sir Link's horse raced in front of us in a flash, blocking the monsters' path to me. He quickly dismounted his horse, not by simply shifting his body off one leg at a time, but by propelling his body through the air in a flip that seemed to defy gravity itself, and landing with his sword piercing the body of the bokoblin closest to us.

I can't really say in detail what happened next because I could not follow most of it. Sir Link's movements were untraceable to my eyes. I knew that the monsters were swinging their weapons at him, but nothing made contact. It seemed like not even the ground could touch him.

In a flurry of slashes and thrusts, every monster that had been before us was now lifeless in the dirt, vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. All that stood was him, with his bloody sword hanging loosely from by his side, looking back at me with this blank expression. Not blank, _unreadable._

From then on, I've been completely fascinated with seeing him in combat. It's not that I particularly liked being in danger, but seeing him move was a marvel. I had heard that Sir Link was the most capable swordsman in all of Hyrule, but seeing him in action convinced me that he wasn't even mortal in the same way that I was. He could kill in the same way I would swat at a fly. All the while, he would still be just as silent as ever. No grunts or exhalations. It was like taking out hordes of monsters required no real effort of his part.

Another time, a lone lizalfos confronted us. Sir Link didn't even change his expression. He took his bow, loaded it with an arrow, and, again leapt off of his horse. Unbelievably, the creature was dead with three arrows between its beady eyes before Sir Link's feet even noiselessly hit the ground.

I've hypothesized that Sir Link actually has some kind of ability to manipulate time. Its really the only plausible explanation for this implausible boy's actions. I would have questioned him about it if I was capable of putting my own pride aside.

Was he this way because he was chosen by the Master Sword or was it the other way around? What did that mean for me? The boy chosen by destiny to defeat Ganon was practically a demigod, and I, the incarnation of the Goddess herself, was as helpless as a newborn.

One morning, I was visiting a shrine near the Rito Village. I had been in the village for about a week, when a messenger from the castle arrived with a letter from my father. In it, he again scolded me for spending so much time on this journey when my full focus should be on my prayers.

I had grown used to drawing my father's ire lately, but the sting did not cease. I decided to ride off from the village, without saying goodbye to the village elder or Revali, and without Sir Link. I had seen this shrine on our way to the village and hoped that more research would calm me.

I tried accessing the shrine, but it was hopeless. Even with the Sheikah Slate, the shrine would not open. It seems that access was only granted to the one chosen by the Sword. _Him again. _Here he wasn't even around and his mere existence was thwarting me. Why did everything have to lead back to him? Why must things always come so easily to him?

I heard the beat of hoofs as a horse made its way up the beaten path. It could only be one person and that knowledge alone merely added more heat to my pot of rage that was already beginning to boiling over.

So when Sir Link's horse made its way next to mine and he wordlessly dismounted and started towards me, I yelled at him. I chastised him and told him to go back to the castle and leave me alone. I'll admit, my actions were childish and out of character, but the thought of having to spend one more moment being tortured by his presence had driven me somewhat mad.

To better rid myself of Sir Link, I decided to make repairs to Vah Naboris and visit my beloved friend Urbosa in Gerudo Town, where no man was allowed to enter. Whether or not Sir Link had realized what my plan was as we made our way to the desert region, I cannot say. He remained wordless during the entire ride south.

My plan, however, worked exactly as planned. I was led into Gerudo Town by the guards and the last I saw of Sir Link was him standing outside the city gates with our horses, watching me disappear into the city with that same unreadable expression.

Only a day into my visit, feeling reinvigorated by my newfound freedom, I had decided to do some exploring outside of the city walls. Urbosa had insisted that I be accompanied by Gerudo guards during my stay when she wasn't around to personally accompany me, but I was so tired of having eyes on me at all times. I wanted to be alone.

Despite the heavy guard presence at the gate, it was easy enough to conceal myself in a cloak and slip out of the city. I was free at last. The desert, despite appearing as a barren wasteland at first glance, had so much to explore. So many bizarre plants, animals, and even some Sheikah shrines.

About an hour into exploring, I was on my knees studying a melon plant with vines threading the desert sand. I had read that the fruit from this plant had some abilities to bestow protection from the desert heat without the use of expensive cooling potions.

I took out my Shiekah slate and slightly leaned back, trying to get a full frame picture of the plant, when I heard cries from behind me. I turned my body around and, squinting against the quivering desert air, I could make out two figures stumbling towards me in the distance.

"Please! Help us!" a man's voice called. As they got closer, I could see a Hylian man struggling to support a staggering Hylian woman. They both staggered through the sea of deep sand. Their clothes were disheveled and ripped to reveal bleeding slashes and scrapes.

The couple both collapsed to their knees and I ran to approach them as quickly as I could. "What happened?" I asked frantically as I kneeled down next to the pair. "Are you both alright?"

"Lizfalos ambushed us in the desert" the man wheezed over the woman's moans of pains. I focused on the woman as she seemed to be in more serious condition. Her dark hair was matted around her face in sweat and her mouth hung open as she wore a seemingly delirious expression on her face.

"We barely made it out alive", the man continued. He reached out and clutched my forearm with his trembling free hand. "Please. You must help us".

I nodded. "R-right", I stammered, my nerves firing up. "I think I have some bandages in my pack". I reached to my side to grab my satchel and started rummaging through it, looking for the roll of gauze I kept for emergencies.

All of a sudden, I felt an inexplicable chill come over my entire body. I froze in that instant. I don't know how, but I had the feeling that I was in grave danger. My eyes shifted back up the pair in front of me. The man continued to look at me with desperate eyes, one arm around the moaning woman, the other hand, having released my arm and was now resting by his side. However, for some reason, this man and woman didn't seem like the unfortunate, harmless travelers that I had first encountered. They were something else. _I had to leave_.

Almost automatically, I slowly rose to a stand, but my feet were still planted in place. I was suddenly unable to further move. This time the man and the woman both looked up at me. Despite the fact that I was surely surrounded by the light of the bright, desert sun, neither of them squinted.

In a puff of smoke, the two people in front of me disappeared and in their place were two figures wearing red, skin tight, traditional Sheikah garb with a mask bearing an upside down Sheikah eye crest. I recognized them immediately as two members of the Yiga Clan.

I somehow managed to get my legs moving again as I clumsily stumbled away from my assailants. From behind me, I could hear the sharp sound of their metal weapons being drawn. I assume this is when they started to give chase, but I could not hear their footsteps. I dared not look behind me to confirm.

I knew Kara Kara Bazaar was nearby. Surely if I could just make it there, I would be safe, but it was so hard to move my legs through the deep sand.

My father had warned me several times about the threat of the Yiga Clan and their plots against my life. How they would stop at nothing to ensure the return and success of Calamity Ganon. He had been adamant that I not go anywhere without guard. However, I was too foolish and stubborn to heed his warnings. I valued my independence above all else, and now I would pay the price.

I could see the outline of the Bazaar's buildings start to take shape. I was almost there. However, in a flash, my view was obstructed by a third Yiga foot soldier sliding into my path from behind a large boulder, scythe at the ready. I tried to pivot and choose another direction to run in, but in my confusion, I slipped flat into the dirt.

I clambered onto my back and my mind raced as I propped myself up and scanned around for an escape. There was none. The three Yiga assassins had me surrounded and started closing in on me. It seemed as though they were moving in slow motion. As if I could get up and simply walk away from my impending death if I weren't completely paralyzed. It's as if my body had already given up and accepted the fact that my life would be ending soon.

Maybe it's because I knew I deserved this. I was foolish, stubborn, and defective. I was completely incapable of taking care of myself. How could silly girl like me be expected to save her entire kingdom? Now I would die, Ganon would remain unsealed, and Hyrule will fall into ruin.

A single Yiga approached me from the front. He bought his scythe above his head. I closed my eyes awaiting the pain of the Yiga's blade splitting my body open and in that last moment, I wished Sir Link was with there.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of metal meeting metal. I kept my eyes closed, not immediately recognizing the sound, but still being sure that my death was still imminent. Suddenly, I heard a thud and felt as gust of air as something heavy next to me hit the ground.

I opened my eyes and gasped as I saw the Yiga assassin face down and lifeless in the dirt front of me, blood seeping from the corpse. In his place in front of me was Sir Link. Where did he come from? Did I wish for him so strongly that I conjured him up? Was this just a dream that I was having in the midst of my death spasms?

The other two Yiga seemed to be stunned and started to back away as Sir Link took a step towards them, ready to launch another offensive. However, I only saw him. The way the sunlight surrounded his frame made him seem to glow. This impossible boy. He was a miracle.

Hastily, the two remaining Yiga put their hands together, taking a strange stance and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, just as they had appeared.

Sir Link sheathed his sword and turned around to face me. It was then that I realized that I had been staring up at him like a wide eyed lost fawn. For half a second, I expected him to chastise me for running off without him or scoff at my defenselessness. Instead he knelt in front of me. He quickly scanned over my body before resting on my eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked me. He placed his hand on the side of my face and his touch snapped me out of the trance I hadn't even realized I had been in. He was looking into my eyes with his unnaturally blue ones. _Why hadn't I ever noticed these eyes before?_

When I didn't answer, he frowned, dropped his hand, and bowed his head to stare at the ground. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. This is my fault. Please forgive me. I will not falter again."

I observed the boy in front of me more closely than I ever had before. I had been cold, mean, and childish towards him. I had rebuffed and chastised and taken out all my frustrations on him, and, yet, he still protected me with his life. This boy had borne the weight of all of my insecurities along with the weight of the world and was still there for me. And now, _he's_ apologizing to _me_.

I'm not sure why I did what I did next, but I do know that, at this point, I had lost all control over my own body. Maybe it was due to the fact that I had survived a very real brush with death, maybe it was the fact that there was a bleeding corpse lying within arm's reach, maybe it had to with my guilt concerning my treatment of the boy in front of me, but I lost it. I collapsed onto my knight, burying my face in his chest and clutching his tunic, and started to sob like an infant.

I could feel his body tense up. There was probably some rule that expressly forbade this type of physical contact between a knight and his royal charge, but he didn't point it out. Instead, he placed a comforting hand on my back. Again, his touch seemed to be breaking the spell of anxiety that was still over me, just like magic. It seems impossible that hands that could take a life in an instant could be this soothing.

"You're okay", he murmured softly over the sound of my sobs, and I wondered how he could still be so tender towards me. He truly was impossible.


End file.
